St Mirren 3-1 Celtic: Wilfried Nancy sends clear message to fans after shock Scottish League Cup final defeat

Celtic head coach Wilfried Nancy has backed himself to turn the club’s fortunes around after watching his new side suffer a shock 3-1 defeat to St Mirren in the Scottish League Cup final at Hampden Park on Sunday.

After becoming the first Hoops boss to lose his first two matches in charge – against Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts and Europa League giants Roma – Nancy was under pressure to delivers silverware on his maiden visit to Mount Florida.

However, the 22-time League Cup champions made the worst possible start, as former Celtic youngster Marcus Fraser head home the opener for St Mirren inside the opening two minutes.

Reo Hatate restored parity for the Hoops with a perfectly-timed sliding volley at the back post midway through the first half, but St Mirren regrouped at the interval and produced a special second-half display to thwart a disjointed and beleaguered Celtic outfit.

Energetic forward Dan Nlundulu was a standout performer for St Mirren, but it was his strike partner Jonah Ayunga who will be remembered as the hero of the day with two decisive goals.

After powering a brave header home to put the Saints back in front, a simple tap-in 14 minutes from time was enough to seal St Mirren’s first League Cup triumph since 2013 and condemn Celtic to a third successive lose since Nancy’s arrival 10 days ago.

Nancy: 'We’re struggling... but I have to see beyond the result'

Nancy cut a lonely and lost figure on the touchline at Hampden, but the Frenchman has taken positives from Celtic’s performance and believes that he has shown the fans the direction in which he wants to take the club.

Speaking to BBC Scotland after the match, Nancy said: "I saw good things but it wasn't enough to win the game. We are struggling, conceded a few goals from set pieces. We had to come from behind, we saw a good reaction. We had many opportunities inside the box to be better.

"When things don't go the way we want we need to stick to what we do and play with more desire to play forward. I want to help the players with that.

"The results always count but I have to see beyond the result, I have to see what we need to do better to get a complete performance. This is something I discuss with the players and I think we're going to be able to do it.

"It's totally normal [the fans] are questioning me, but I think I showed them that we can do better, I showed them the direction I want to go.

"This is part of the job. I know where we are now, I know where we want to go and I really believe we're going to be able to click and move forward.”

“Strong” Nancy has no regrets over timing of taking Celtic job

Nancy continued: "It's not the fans' job to be patient, but I tell them I am still working and I know what we want to do.

"I am strong. We are judged on results, I know my job regarding that. I try to go beyond the results and beyond winning. We have to win to give confidence, to buy time, I know that but I am going beyond that.

"I think we are a bit fragile at this moment but my job is to give them confidence and move forward.

"The feeling that I have is that when things don't go the way we want we are struggling, this is totally normal. I have to help the players to be more confident."

Asked if he has any regrets about the timing of taking the job, Nancy said: "No, I'm not like that. I know why I'm here, I'm happy to be here and I'm happy to be here at this moment. This is not a problem for me."

Celtic now have three days to shake off their cup final disappointment and will endeavour to return to winning ways when they travel to Tannadice to face Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday night.

The Hoops currently sit second in the top-flight table and six points behind leaders Hearts, who have played two games more.